DERA BUGTI: Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said here today [July 24] that his Government was determined to go to every nook and corner of the country in search of oil... . Addressing Bugti tribesmen at Pirkoh, 36 miles from Dera Bugti, the Prime Minister said that if God blessed us with oil, it will belong to the nation, it will be an asset of the seven crore people of Pakistan and it will not belong to any capitalist. He said the revenue thus earnt from oil will be spent on the welfare of the people, on their education and on improving the national economy. Not a single penny from the oil revenue will be allowed to go abroad, he declared. Besides [he] said, the income from oil will be utilised for strengthening the country’s defence.

Mr Bhutto said: “Today Pakistan was a poor country but if, God willing, we strike oil, we shall use this wealth to eliminate poverty from our soil. …[W]e shall help other countries as well, provided these countries were also poor and belonged to Third World bloc in Asia and Africa.” He added oil production at the moment in Pakistan was inadequate to meet the requirements.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2026